Make a kids paper chain and paint them all different colors to celebrate the beauty of diversity!
These people paper chains always intrigued me as a kid.
How do you cut them so they are already holding hands?
Then it hit me.
The accordion fold.
If you fold a long strip of paper back and forth like an accordion, you can cut a shape out, and as long as you don’t cut through all of the folded sides, they will be connected.
Duh.
Here’s how I made the paper chain base.
HOw to Make a Person Paper Chain
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Sidenote: what are these kinds of paper chains called??! Tell me in the comments what you call them because I have no idea!
Moving on.
To make a paper chain of people, I used the following supplies:
- butcher paper
- scissors
- pencil
First, I cut a strip of butcher paper off the big roll. You’ll want a long strip to make a long chain. Make sense so far?
Next, I folded the paper accordion style. This means you fold part of the paper over, about as wide as you would want the width of one person on the chain, then flip the whole paper over and fold again the same width as the first fold.
If you’re confused (and reading the instructions in text does seem a little confusing!) watch the first part of this video to see me do it.
Then, draw the shape of a person. Make sure at least the two hands reach the fold.
Cut out the shape.
DO NOT CUT THROUGH WHERE THE HANDS MEET THE FOLD!
Then unfold the paper, and you should have a paper chain of people holding hands!
Now we can move on the fun part–the painting!
Painting the Colorful Kids Paper Chain
Before we got started, I suited the kids up in their art smocks and covered their work tables with a shower curtain liner for easy clean up.
We always use this washable paint for painting activities, and so far it has come out of skin and clothes and furniture without staining, but it never hurts to have an extra layer of protection!
For this project, we used black, yellow, red, blue, white, and orange colors.
I put a dab of each paint color on a paper plate and handed one to each kid.
I also gave them soft bristle brushes and foam brushes to use for painting.
Elena, my four-year-old asked to use watercolor paints also.
We just use a cheap watercolor paint palette. They are very inexpensive and easy to find at most stores.
Mostly we use watercolors for crayon resist art, so I was surprised that Elena requested to have these paints out, too.
I asked the girls to paint each paper kid as colorfully as they wanted.
Elena experimented with layering the washable paint and the watercolor paint.
Lia, who was 23 months old at the time, preferred mixing all the colors together on the plate before painting the paper with them.
Actually, she did great with painting on the paper and not running off to paint the furniture as she may have done a few other times.
This is why we always use washable paint with the toddlers!
Painting and conversation
As the girls painted, I talked with them about the colors they saw on their own bodies and mine.
Elena, the four-year-old, claimed to see lots of pink and black when she looks at me!
Lia declined to respond.
We also sang “Jesus Loves the Little Children” a few times together as they were painting.
The lyrics are really sweet.
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world,
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
These painted, messy hands are so beautiful and so precious to me.
People come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Every single person is just as beautiful and precious as I believe my kids to be!
One of my goals as a parent is to teach my kids to love and respect others, no matter how different or similar they are.
I hope you enjoy making this craft with your kids and are able to use it as a springboard for deeper conversations.
Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about our colorful kids paper chain craft!